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Plan for Change: How to Make Sure Your Supply Chain Remains Resilient in the Midst of Political Uncertainty
These days, disruption is a big part of the cost of doing business. Many of us feel we’ve got more than our share of uncertainty, thanks to technological advances, globalization, demographic shifts, and natural disasters. But U.S. companies today must also pay attention to political uncertainty in their supply chain and logistics risk profiles. The […]
Read MoreU.S. Economy Going Strong and Steady
The U.S. economy continues to experience robust growth supported by real wage increases, lower unemployment, and easy access to credit, which all support stronger private consumption, according to the Atradius December Economic Update report. The report’s key takeaways for the U.S. economy include: World trade will see five-percent growth in 2017 and 3.5 percent in […]
Read MoreFunding High-Tech Supply Chain Startups
Singapore-based investment company, Temasek and Kuehne Nagel International AG, a global logistics group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint venture to invest globally in early stage companies developing cutting-edge technology for logistics and supply chains. The joint venture targets investments in early stage companies developing technologies and services with the potential […]
Read MoreVenezuela Crisis Surpasses Great Depression
The collapse of Venezuela’s economy has reached historic proportions, equal to or surpassing the 1929 and 1939 U.S. Great Depressions. That’s according to economist Gerver Torres, a researcher at the Gallup Company and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a recent lecture at the University of Miami’s Robert and Judi […]
Read MoreRealigning Logistics
FedEx Corp. will realign its specialty logistics and e-commerce solutions in a new structure under FedEx Trade Networks, Inc. (FTN), beginning March 1, 2018. The goal is to create an organization focused on serving the unique needs of this important growth driver. "In order to improve our ability to leverage the unique capabilities of our […]
Read MoreSpecial Delivery
With delivery dates of June 2018 and January 2019, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, a division of the Ethiopian Airlines Group, is leasing the first Aeronautical Engineers Inc.(AEI)-converted Boeing 737-800 freighters (737-800SF) from GE Capital Aviation Services. “In line with our Vision 2025 Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics strategic roadmap, we are expanding our cargo fleet […]
Read MoreMiddle East Gain for Crane
Crane Worldwide Logistics has expanded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, opening a fully operational office based in Dammam. Providing airfreight, ocean freight, and logistics services, the operation is strategically located in Al-Khobar and served by King Fahd International Airport and King Abdul Aziz Port. Crane Worldwide Logistics also has its own entities in both […]
Read MoreFleets Don’t Fail Me Now
The number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Russia/CIS and Eastern Europe was 4.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a new report from analyst firm Berg Insight (see chart, right). Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5 percent, this number is expected to […]
Read MoreWTO Conference Marked by Lack of Consensus on Pretty Much Everything
Nobody left satisfied when the World Trade Organization (WTO) wrapped up its 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017. Here are the highlights: The United States largely withdrew from its traditional leadership role at the WTO conference, expressing interest in developing more direct, bilateral trade deals with trading partners. The European Union (EU) […]
Read MorePeak Season Piques Airfreight Demand
Global air freight is on track to achieve its strongest operational and financial performance since the post-global financial crisis rebound in 2010. Demand measured in freight ton kilometers (FTKs) rose in November 2017 by 8.8 percent over 2016 totals, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). While the 2010 gains lasted for about one […]
Read MoreSCPA: One for the Record Books
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) set a new container volume record, handling 2.2 million TEUs during 2017, and posted nine-percent container volume growth. The port’s total container volume in 2017 surpassed the previous record of 2 million TEUs achieved in 2016. In addition, the port moved 182,884 TEUs in December 2017, an increase of 11.2 […]
Read MoreShopper Expectations Outpace Retail Investments
Overall shopper satisfaction has significantly improved over the past decade, although shoppers are still not thrilled with retail staff availability and customer service. While four in 10 shoppers surveyed in Zebra Technologies Corporation’s 2017 Global Shopper Study cite being better connected to consumer information than store associates, more than half believe store associates armed with […]
Read MoreConnectivity, Advanced Telematics Buoy LATAM Logistics
Digital transformation and connectivity are reshaping the future of logistics and the trucking industry, according to Frost & Sullivan’s recent Latin American Commercial Vehicles Market Forecast to 2023 study. Demand for greater transparency, speed, and truck capacity optimization, as well as higher logistics costs in Latin America (LATAM), ushered in a range of digital freight […]
Read MoreAcquiring Shipt Will Bring Target Shoppers Same-Day Delivery
Target recently acquired Shipt to leverage the same-day delivery company’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers, and quickly and efficiently bring same-day delivery to customers across the country. What does this $550-million deal mean for Target and other retailers? "We are now at a point where same-day delivery service is becoming the rule for […]
Read MoreE-Commerce Warehouses: SuperSize Me
Thanks to e-commerce, the average footprint of warehouses built in the United States since the early 2000s has more than doubled. The largest expansions are in metro areas with the big populations that online sellers covet and the ample land that developers need, according to a new CBRE report. The real estate firm analyzed the […]
Read MoreThree Supply Chain Trends You Need to Know
The pace of supply chain and logistics transformation shows no signs of stopping in 2018, and changes in commerce, technology, demographics, and regulation will have huge implications for the sector. Three trends to keep top of mind are: 1. The electronic logging device (ELD) rollout in the United States, combined with previously introduced Hours of […]
Read MoreHow Millennials Are Driving Modern Mobility in the Supply Chain
A recent analysis of U.S. Census data by the Pew Research Center found that more than 30 percent of today’s American workers are of the millennial generation. This percentage is expected to rise as an increasing number of those born between the early 1980s and mid-2000s enter the workforce. Within a few short years, we […]
Read MoreLease Me a Loan: Transport Financing on the Upswing
Today more businesses rely on leases, loans, and equipment lines of credit to finance increased spending on new equipment. Businesses have increased their capital equipment spending for the seventh consecutive year, with overall new business volume growing by 2.5 percent, according to a recent Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) study. The equipment-financing sector outperformed […]
Read MoreIntermodal Volumes Best in Nearly Four Years
Total intermodal volumes climbed 7.2 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018, the strongest gain since Q2 2014, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report. Domestic containers increased 6.2 percent, international intermodal volumes grew 7 percent, and trailers led overall growth at 14.5 percent. “Drivers for […]
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